The present invention relates to devices for releasably securing pivoting seat backs in vehicles so that the seat back is normally held in an upright seating position but may be released for forward pivotal movement to permit access to the rear pass-through cargo storage compartment of the vehicle. The prior art locking devices, of which the present invention is an improvement thereover, presented a problem wherein the device could be overridden if the release handle was subjected to sufficient user force.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,648 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Okino et al. is an example of rear seat back locking arrangement, in which in a motor vehicle is adapted to communicate its passenger compartment with its trunk when a rear seat back is pivoted downwardly into its fold-down position. The Okino et al. patent provides one type of key cylinder locking arrangement such that when the key cylinder is operated for locking, with the seat back held in its erected state, the seat back cannot be released from the locked state.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,175 issued Aug. 4, 1987 to Trutter discloses a locking device for a rear seat back rest including a tongue-shaped locking member which is fastened to a body compartment and provided with a recess. The Trutter locking device includes a plastic housing built into the seat back. The housing accommodates a single-arm latch bar which is adapted to engage into the recess of the tongue-like locking member by way of a latch tab.